Defensive Set

by PaulRevere on Nov 27, 2008 12:26 PM EST

I think I tried to post this while I was at work and never actually did it.

While I do not pretend to be an expert on the level of Bill Belichick or any of the Patriots' personnel, I was curious if there had been any discussion about the Patriots possibly switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defensive set. The reason why I am wondering this is because after the rule changes which occurred between the 2004 and 2005 seasons, the prospect of a defensive which depends on covering wide receivers has been looking increasingly grim.

The 4-3 defensive set appears to provide more consistent pass pressure which appears to be the key to success these days. The Giants demonstrated this on Black Sunday. Also, this year the Giants and the Titans have had tremendous success with the 4-3 because they can pressure quarterbacks. It is true that the Steelers play a 3-4, but they always lose to teams with good vertical passing games. Anyways, I am completely open to the fact that I may be missing factors (like mismatch on set and personnel, etc) that would make this idea less favorable, but I was curious if there was any discussion for it. I think it's a good thing to talk about and something we might want to ask on WEEI.

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Comments

I think having a capable secondary has a little more to do with losing to vertical passing teams than the 4-3 vs. 3-4. The steelers have only given up one long pass this season – that’s not why we’ve lost.

by steelguy99 on Nov 27, 2008 1:29 PM EST reply actions

yeah we do not lose to those teams because of the formation we play in but for other reasons. all games this year that we have lost is due to beating ourselves. nobody has really beaten us this year, they may have won the game but we beat ourselves. (except Philly we weren’t prepared for that game)

by Bleed-Black&Gold on Nov 28, 2008 1:52 AM EST reply actions

Defensive formations

The formation doesn’t make the defense, the personnel do. A 3-4 can be just as strong as a 4-3 in creating pressure by using a fast, big, an strong outside linebacker. In my opinion, if the coach and head of player personnel are savvy about who fits were and can acquire the right kind of person for those roles, you’ll have a successful scheme. Ex: the Patriots 3-4 with Asante Samuel was a different D.

Blogger at SBNation's New England Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit

by MaPatsFan on Nov 28, 2008 5:05 PM EST reply actions